Mumsnet Talk

Twilight - not at all, your child will no doubt sit within the centiles on the growth chart. The more useful measure of feeding will be consistency of growth along the centile lines

It often isn't mentioned that children are big in departments because it tends to cause offence or takes up more time if the department is otherwise heaving. The majority of children off the centile chart will eventually find their way back onto it but a significant minority will spend their lives big and the younger people are aware of this the easier it is to address. No one is suggesting that the child be starved or even actively placed on a diet but a slightly more watchful approach to feeding would be beneficial.

I'm not sure why people feel that a breastfed child can't be overfed. If the child puts on excessive amounts of weight then it is receiving more calories than it needs to expend for daily life and growth, ergo it's overfed.

Of course a breast-fed baby can be overfed. What a strange statement. If they enjoy suckling it can be very easy.

However at 6 months I wouldn't worry too much. As you introduce more fruits and veg as part of weaning he may lose weight (sorry - gain more slowly) as they are of lower calorific value than milk. Concentrate on a range of veg rather than the carbohydrates such as baby rice/pasta/sweet pot etc that you may do with a baby of lower body weight. Also encourage activities such as singing/clapping/reaching/rolling to try and burn it off.

My son was 21lb at 3 months (because of a specific medical condition) and I have sympathy as people do make judgments.

I think people say bf babies can't be overfed because you don't know how much they are actually getting there isn't the temptation to coax them to finish the last half ounce in a bottle. But my dd was definitely a very greedy bfer and still is.

ERM bfed babies don't always get milk when they suck unlike with a bottle they can suck for comfort without getting masses of milk so no they can't be overfed, perhaps you should do a bit of research of needing and comfort sucking.

Of bfeeding and comfort sucking.

Goodness, he must be hard to carry! My 3y 4 m DD weighs 28 lbs (12.8 kg)

I think that unless you are smuggling unnecessary calories into him by feeding him masses of sweets or putting in twice the amount of formula powder (doesn't sound like you are!) then that must be just the weight he's meant to be, especially if he's tall as well. He'll almost certainly slim down when he starts moving.

Google comfort sucking or non nutritive suckling which explains the kind of comfort sucking bfed babies do and how they can't be over fed.

Also bfeeding protects against obesity in later life even if he is very big now weight gain tends to tail off at 9-12mths as they get more mobile and burn it off.

As long as any medical/genetic conditions are/have been ruled out for the weight gain this is just the size he is meant to be right now.

If the child is putting on weight from the feeding it can't, by definition, be "non nutritive sucking". These are circular arguments.

Of course he puts on weight from.feeding but as an ebf baby he will be the weight he is meant to be.

He will nurse for milk when hungry but will comfort suck when he needs to. Bfed babies do this a lot and it doesnt make them overweight.

He may be big and medical reason ie genetic conditions for the weight gain should be ruled out.

But he wont be overfed on breast milk.

But the OP also feeds a 22 month old. Therefore her supply will be higher than that usually found in a woman only directly feeding a 6 month old. Your body will provide what is needed for a feed and therefore non-nutritive sucking will occur at the end of a feed or soon after a feed has finished. A baby (especially very young) will comfort suck but if you have pumped regularly or are feeding a second baby the supply can be increased and the baby may take on extra milk during this phase.

An EBF baby can definitely be overfed because you are encouraging milk intake from a bottle, wherever it came from. BTW my dd was BF/EBF so I this isn't a judgment about using EBM.

Once again though I will say that I wouldn't think it was a problem at this stage as he will probably even out once he starts crawling and is on a range of foods.

One of mine was about 25lbs, I fed on demand... I read about bf babies being less prone to obesity, better at appetite regulation and brown 'good' fat etc. I didn't really worry but kept an eye on his weight which didn't change for about 2 years!

By seven he was a foot clear of most class mates and we took the same sized shoes. He is still lean.

Bf on demand is the norm and it normally works out fine.

Actually blondefriend tandem nursing doesn't change gain patterns, the baby regulates the flow and intake.

Wow! Mine weighed that at age 5!

Anyhoo i would take to the Dr so they can check for any health issues.